Stuart Gold vs Iron Ore
Where Stuart Gold belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Iron Ore is a Sherwin-Williams color. Hue-wise, Stuart Gold belongs to the beige family and Iron Ore to the grey family. Stuart Gold (LRV 48) reflects noticeably more light than Iron Ore (LRV 6), a difference of 42 points that becomes especially apparent in rooms with limited natural light. Stuart Gold runs red while Iron Ore is decidedly neutral, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. With a ΔE of 66.2, the contrast is hard to miss. These aren't variations on a theme — they're two different answers to the same question. Below you'll find 5 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Stuart Gold vs Iron Ore in Real Spaces
5 real rooms side by side. Seeing Stuart Gold and Iron Ore in actual rooms makes the difference concrete; browse the spaces below to get a feel for how each color lives on a wall.
Living Room
In a living room, color works across both daylight and evening light — the same wall can read very differently at noon and at 8pm. The LRV gap is large enough that Stuart Gold will make the room feel meaningfully brighter than Iron Ore would.
Dining Room
A dining room lit by a dimmed pendant or candles is one of the most forgiving environments for paint — warm light softens almost everything. Stuart Gold returns significantly more light to the room — in a smaller or darker space, that difference in perceived brightness is hard to miss.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. Stuart Gold reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
House
Seen across an entire facade, subtle tonal differences become pronounced. What reads as nearly the same on a chip often reads as clearly different at scale. Stuart Gold reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. Stuart Gold reflects noticeably more light off the walls, making the space read more open than Iron Ore.
Color Details
Stuart Gold vs Iron Ore Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Stuart Gold on one side and Iron Ore on the other.
Digital color is approximate. These simulations are generated from the manufacturer's hex values and overlaid on grayscale room photos — your screen's calibration, brightness, and viewing angle all affect how they render. Before committing to either color, test physical samples in your own space under the light you actually live with.
More Stuart Gold comparisons
See how Stuart Gold stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
